Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NORPRA), a pro-poor Civil Society Organization working to influence pro-poor policies and promote accountable governance is calling on people of the Upper East Region to mount a thorough search for the Hon. Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. James Tiiga whose whereabouts is not known by the citizens of the region.

It is recalled that the regional minister took over the governance of the region from the former regional minister Dr. Avea in July, 2014 and without introducing himself to the chiefs and people of the region as always demanded by custom and providing the needed leadership for an accelerated development of the upper east region, he vanished into thin air for about four months now leaving the poor region to its fate.

The minister’s unpatriotic behaviour is not only facilitating the thinking of citizens of upper east region that he has very little commitment in leading his people out of poverty and underdevelopment but also strongly confirms the widely held views of Ghanaians that the Mahama -led administration has gotten its development priorities wrong as it has always taken very poisonous decisions resulting in poor management of the economy and governance of the country.

The decision of the president to make four ministerial reshuffles in less than twenty (20) months in the upper east region is not only inimical to the socio-economic development of the region but a clear manifestation of gross abuse of presidential powers

In this Search Walk, serious answers will be demanded from government of the whereabouts of the minister. Additionally, the walk will be used to advise government to stop frustrating the development agenda of the upper east region by ensuring that right choices are made to get leaders with strong commitment and determination to lead the region’s much needed development.
To make the search for the upper east regional minister effective, NORPRA is mobilizing citizens to embark on a Search Walk in the region on November 14, 2014.

It is important to also state that, even though the 1992 Constitution of Ghana enjoins government to have deputy regional ministers, the current case in the upper east region where the deputy regional minister does not have the mandate to function as a regional minister and lead the region’s development in the absence of the substantive minister provides a good platform for Government-Citizens Debate on the relevance of deputy regional ministerial positions in our governance system.

In conclusion, NORPRA urges the good people of the upper east region to join this Search Walk in their numbers on the day of the search